Front Page

Achievements made by Bangladesh during the Indian premier's visit are very substantial but they have been overshadowed by the postponement of the Teesta deal, said Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi.

Jalal Uddin, 58, of Angorpota village, had diarrhoea on 25 June. His condition turned critical at night and needed to be taken to a doctor. Seeing a doctor would require going to the mainland through the Tin Bigha Corridor. But India's Border Security Force did not allow him to cross the corridor for it was “night time” when movement through it was not allowed.

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam had told the US ambassador that some of his colleagues “did not want to stop extra-judicial killings by law enforcement agencies,” said a leaked US diplomatic dispatch.

When the six students were bludgeoned to death mercilessly at Bardeshi village in Aminbazar about two months ago, almost every villager had branded them robbers. Even just before the judicial probe committee submitted its report on Thursday, the villagers were adamant that the boys were robbers.

The then finance minister Saifur Rahman in 2005 had acknowledged that the Anti-Corruption Commission was not working the way it should and that “it was crippled by internal arguments,” said a US diplomatic dispatch leaked recently by WikiLeaks.

Danes look set to bring a new centre-left coalition to power in a September 15 general election, a move that would spell the end of the anti-immigration Danish People's Party's influential role in Danish politics.

Editorial

We are heartened by the speed and competence with which the one-member judicial probe body completed its work in the killing of six students on the night of July 18 by a mob, suspecting them to be criminals. The disturbing aspect of it was that the police stood by while the mob beat the students to death.

The strikingly different contrasts of how the governments of Bangladesh and India handle the media and share information became very apparent during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official visit to Bangladesh which just concluded. The Bangladeshi media was obliged to struggle during the summit to acquire the official version of the development of events, often having to chase officials for information and briefings. The media was apparently kept in the dark about the step by step outcome of the talks between the two governments. There appeared to be no designated person to approach in case of any clarifications required and if there was, he/she was not readily available. In fact, there were hardly any press conferences.

2011-2012 is shaping up to be a stellar season on the Italian peninsula after several years of placidity in the wake of Calciopoli. Milan finally broke the Inter-dominance of recent times by winning the Scudetto last year, and interesting mercato strategies should allow Milan to compete for trophies once again. In fact, nearly every club is pursuing a unique strategy in this offseason, perhaps most evidently demonstrated in the opposite approaches taken by the two capital sides.

India staged a remarkable fightback to hold Pakistan to a 2-2 draw in their last league match before depending on Malaysia's heroics to set up a summit showdown with their archrivals in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Ordos, China on Friday.

Former England captain David Beckham would be welcomed back at Tottenham Hotspur with “open arms” and could this time be registered as a player, the Premier League club's manager Harry Redknapp said on Friday.

Metropolitan

India has promised greater market access to its South Asian neighbours, including Bangladesh, by reducing its sensitive list of goods by twenty percent next month under the South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta).

Two police constables and two Ansar members were suspended yesterday after muggers pushed seven people off trains, killing four of them and injuring three, after looting valuables in separate incidents on Wednesday, said railway sources.

Ferry services on Daulatdia-Paturia route remained suspended for three hours yesterday morning as four ferries ran aground in shoals in the Padma one after another, creating a huge tailback at Daulatdia ferry terminal.

Leaders of India-Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Coordination Committee here on Thursday evening suspended a fast- unto-death programme of people living in enclaves in Bangladesh for seven days as per the district administration's request.

A group of rights activists will stage a sit-in programme in front of shaheed minars in every district across the country on September 13 to press home their seven-point demand including removal of the communications and shipping ministers.

At least two people were killed and 48 others injured when a Barisal-bound bus of Eagle Paribahan collided head-on with a bus of Sarbik Paribahan coming from opposite direction while it was trying to overtake a Nosimon, locally made three-wheeler, on the Dhaka-Aricha highway at Muljan of Sadar upazila yesterday.

BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday alleged that the government wants to keep Tarique Rahman away from the next parliamentary election by sentencing him through a camera trial in the grenade attack case.

Shayera Ahmed, a well-known social activist and wife of late Mahiuddin Ahmed of Sylhet, passed away due to old-age complications at United Hospital in the city at 10:00am yesterday, Friday, at the age of 92.

Libya's de facto premier Mahmud Jibril warned in his first address in Tripoli that the hardest battles still lay ahead as fighters loyal to the new rulers closed in on Moamer Kadhafi's hometown Friday.

The United States on Thursday accused four Venezuelan officials, including a general, of aiding the leftist Colombian guerrilla group FARC and put them on a list of narcotics kingpins subject to sanctions.

Arts & Entertainment

Hundreds of theatre activists -- from veterans to young ones -- gathered at the Mahila Shamiti premises on September 8. They came over to join a festival being held for the last time at the venue widely known as the epicentre of neo-theatre movement in Bangladesh. The Mahila Shamiti authorities have taken a decision to renovate the building. It was an emotional affair for many of the activists, as they reunited at the venue that had witnessed the theatre movement firsthand. They were taking photos of each other and sharing memories. It seemed that the venue went back to its golden days suddenly.

Mokhlesur Rahman is a recognised printmaker in the contemporary Bangladeshi art scene. He works with wood, and paints on its fibre. He finds texture hidden in the fibre. The fibre's unevenness encourages him to create something more alluring.

Mel Gibson, the Oscar winner who has defended himself against accusations of anti-Semitism, is developing a film for Warner Bros. about the life of Judah Maccabee, the warrior whose ancient victory is celebrated by Hanukkah.

OP-ED

While commenting on serious police malfeasance of committing extortion, The Daily Star post-editorial of August 24 very candidly observes that non-implementation of police reforms "raises misgiving in the public mind that a thoroughbred reform of the police might keep them above politicisation" and "that may be the reason why no political party is serious on this score."

Pakistan may not have democracy in the sense the world knows. Nor will it pass the muster in the economic field. But it has to its credit independent judiciary and free media which the lawyers and journalists have won after long battles in their respective fields. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka cannot emulate Pakistan because the judiciary and the media exercise independence to the extent the governments of those countries allow, although Bangladesh is a shade better than Sri Lanka.

People might recall that while speaking in an anti-poverty rally in 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cautioned that none would be spared for graft and wrongdoing, regardless of party affiliation. Speaker of the Parliament Advocate Abdul Hamid, who presided over the rally, stressed that curbing corruption and ensuring good "governance" were preconditions for having a poverty free society.

The events were clearly a sequel to the crisis over the US's public debt, and once again the need for introspection was all too obvious. On July 21, representatives of European governments agreed to a new package of loans to Greece, so as to pre-empt a default on Greece's obligations to its foreign creditors. The approval of the package did not signal a solution to Europe's debt crisis, but the failure of the first package agreed on last year.

Was it surprising that, at the last moment, the Chief Minister of Paschimbanga decided not to accompany the Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh? Perhaps not, even though bilateral relations between the two countries are cordial, especially since the visit of Sheikh Hasina to India in 2010. The ruling party of Bangladesh has made every effort to improve relations, so where did the problem lie?

Environment

With a population of over 15 million Dhaka is one of the most congested cities of the world. This rapidly growing city is located on the northern bank of the river Buriganga and surrounded by other rivers, namely, the Turag to the west, the Tongi Khal to the north and the Balu to the east. The rivers surrounding Dhaka are an advantage to it and essential for the survival of the mega city as these provide drainage system, drinking water, different kinds of fishes and also waterways for traveling. However, being the capital of Bangladesh -- one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world -- the city has been developed haphazardly without considering its physical and social diminution. As a result, the environmental consequences originating from rapid increase of population along with the increase of polluting effluents from industries, and municipal as well as other waste are having profound negative impacts on rivers around Dhaka city. In turn, the polluted waters of the rivers are posing increasing threats to the living organisms including humans residing by the rivers.

Tigers are maverick animals. They are supposed to live long in this world. Instead, they are disappearing rapidly. No doubt celebrating 'tiger day' will raise awareness to safeguard this majestic animal; however, we hope the affiliated institutions will continue creating a congenial environment for safety and sustainability of tiger population.

Literature

I always wondered what it meant when death announcements in newspapers used the phrase “someone has died peacefully.” How does one die “peacefully”? When we were young, the Italian poet Dante whispered into our ears, “Death, always cruel / Pity's foe in chief / Mother who brought forth grief / Merciless judgment and without appeal!” How could one have peace with such a cruel adversary? Yet, when my mother, Suraiya Begum died on the first day of August, I found no other way to describe it. She died “peacefully” --- and that is what our relatives were telling everyone.

A friend of mine always keeps reminding me that if we were asked to rank our most pleasurable activities, the ingestion of good food would always find a very high spot on everybody's list. Yes, I couldn't agree more. It seems as time goes by and I get more opportunities to sample a wider range of food, the truth is sinking in. When men reach a certain age, they like picking through their memories. We are indeed willing slaves of our taste buds. How else do you explain the obesity epidemic or the explosion of cooking/dining shows on primetime television?

Star Health

Noncommunicable diseases or NCDs like heart attacks and strokes, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases — kill about three in five people worldwide (63 percent), and cause great socioeconomic harm in all countries, particularly in developing countries like Bangladesh. Every year, 9 million people die too young from NCDs (under the age of 60). But implementing cost-effective interventions that reduce risk factors for NCDs will contribute up to two-thirds of the reduction in premature mortality. Global leaders urged to set a new international agenda on NCDs to take action against the epidemic, save millions of lives and enhance development initiatives.

Physiotherapy is an integral part of modern medical science to deal with millions of movement related disorders and patients with physical disability to make them able to become fit, active and healthy. With a view to raising awareness on the necessity of Physiotherapy and portraying its status in the country, World Physiotherapy Day was observed on September 8 in Bangladesh along with the whole world. The day was observed with the slogan “Movement for Health”.

The number of newborns dying in Bangladesh has decreased — falling from 57 to 30 deaths per 1000 births in 2009, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the World Health Organisation, Save the Children and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The number of new cancer cases has increased by 20 percent in under a decade and now stands at 12 million a year, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. It warns that nearly a quarter of those cases are preventable. It calculated that 2.8m new cancers each year are linked to diet, exercise and obesity.

To observe the World Physiotherapy Day on September 8, Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) organised a seminar in its own premise. The seminar entitled “Contemporary Physiotherapy practice across the world and Bangladesh perspectives” was aimed at increasing awareness and proper use of physiotherapy in treatment.

Strategic Issues

Ten years ago, a well-coordinated terrorist plot led to the assault upon the United States with disastrous loss of human life. The worst of all this was the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan, where nearly 3,000 innocent people were killed.

India's leadership is much talked about now a days in South Asian politics. There has been a persistent and sharp contrast between South Asian states, as a whole, and India. Where a number of South Asian states are in a strained relationship with the West, India on the contrary is enjoying a bonhomie relationship. For last few months it has been receiving many world leaders at home with success. 'Incredible India', is truly proving its diplomatic professionalism in dealing with other states, even USA, to keep its national interest intact.

Star Books Review

I love the opening line of Stephen Hatch-Barnwell's memoirs The Last Guardian for its sagacity: “It is better to trust luck than to be clever.” And it is a book of memoirs, and not an autobiography. His purely personal life is dismissed in a total of three or so sheets (that, too, is a generous estimate) out of a voluminous book of 384 total pages. The rest is devoted to his professional career as a member of the exalted Indian Civil service (ICS) during the waning years of the British raj. He ended this chapter after reaching the pinnacle of the service as a member of the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP), the successor service in the new country of Pakistan. In fact, he ended his career in East Pakistan (he had worked all his civil service life in undivided Bengal of British India and the eastern province of Pakistan) in 1966 before retiring to end his days in the country of his birth --- England. The unusual aspect of his life and career was that this was a quintessential Englishman who voluntarily opted to stay on in the land where he began his professional career even after the sun of the raj that had made his job possible had finally set in its crown jewel. Even his name, Stephen Hatch-Barnwell, smacks of the archetypal Englishman, somehow even evoking the image of an empire-builder. He has left behind one of the most delightful books that I have read over the last ten years or so.

There are certain American obsessions you cannot ignore. Take the fascination with the Kennedys, for instance. Or think of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. And then there is the other side of this fascination. Fidel Castro remains a threat for the US government, despite so many changes having taken place all across the world since the bearded Cuban revolutionary marched into Havana in 1959. Today, it is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez who worry America, especially its ruling elite. And obsession sometimes can go to ludicrous lengths in Washington. Forbes magazine has just informed us that Michelle Obama happens to be the most powerful woman in the world. Now that is surely ridiculous, given that Mrs. Obama holds no position in government nor has done anything significant on her own to justify that definition of her capabilities. She happens to share the bed of the current occupant of the White House. How then, you wonder, does she edge ahead of the likes of Angela Merkel as the most powerful woman on the planet?

Hisham Matar's Anatomy of a Disappearance is not so much the narration or analysis of a person's disappearance as a profound exploration of the psychological effects on characters whose lives have been brutally altered because of the disappearance of a loved one. The main character and the narrator of Matar's wrenching novel is Nuriel el-Alfi, age twelve when he begins relating what happened when his father disappeared two years later in 1972. As he observes in the opening of his story: